Alice Austen Education: Botanical Fabric Dying with Flowers & Foraged Plants with Aly Stoffo of Glam Gardener NYC
Aly Stoffo of Glam Gardener NYC hosts invasive plant workshops that teach people how to identify, craft with, and consume common non-native weeds. These weeds–like mugwort, autumn olive, and Japanese knotweed–are loathed by Parks departments, as they devote thousands of dollars in labor toward removing them from greenspaces. Her workshops offer a different perspective on how we can relate to our environment. They combine ecosystems knowledge with arts, crafts, history, and sensory experiences to make connections impactful and memorable. It questions the concept of garbage, all while enabling citizens to do their part in the effort to remove invasive plants that are disruptive to the native ecosystem.
<—– Moments from Aly’s 2022 workshops at Alice Austen House
Explore The Meadow: Botanical Fabric Dying with Flowers & Foraged Plants with Aly Stoffo of Glam Gardener NYC
Explore the meadows of the Alice Austen House on this outdoor tour. You’ll be guided through
the house’s surrounding green space by local forager and environmental educator, Aly Stoffo of
Glam Gardener NYC. You’ll learn about wild plants that grow locally and have been used for
food and practical purposes like fabric dying for thousands of years. This tour focuses on the
uses of common invasive plants.
On our tour, we will collect wild plants that can be used to dye fabrics, then we will review
common garden flowers that can be used for botanical dying of fabrics. Attendees will be
guided on how to dye a fabric with plants and flowers from start to finish.
All materials will be provided. This event is family-friendly. Both adults and families are
encouraged to attend. However the dying process includes the use of heat, and we will have a
camping stove on site. You must be cautious while doing this guided activity and young children
must be watched at all times.
This is a great workshop for people that love the outdoors, local history, and want to connect
with nature by using primitive skills like gardening, foraging, plant identification and natural
fabric dying.
Other subject areas discussed are herbalism, ecosystems, and sustainability. Alice Austen is the
founder of the Staten Island Garden Club, a club that still runs today. She was a landscape
designer and lover of natural spaces. This tour pays homage to Alice Austen’s connection to
green spaces.
Attendees are encouraged to bring a blanket to this event and picnic on the lawn after this event is over.
Wear: Long socks and shoes suitable for walking in green spaces.
Optional to bring: Bring: a small tote bag for wild plant collection, snippers or scissors,
gardening gloves. You are welcome to bring a small, white, cotton or natural material fabric to
dye for the activity, however one will be provided to you in the event you do not have one.
What will be provided: Natural and non-natural bug repellent, a small fabric used for dying, and
some flowers used for the dying process (distributed on a first-come-first-served basis).
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